Soaring into the Unknown
by JoyfulFarah
Summary: Unknown to the team, there is a criminal on the plane. Could they survive and come out of the experience stronger than ever?
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Soaring into the Unknown.  
**Summary:** Unknown to the team, there is a criminal on the plane. Could they survive and come out of the experience stronger than ever?  
**Author's Notes: **With Many Thanks to **REIDFANATIC** for the beta read! I am graceful to her for making my work the best it can be.  
**Disclaimer:** This is a work of fiction. Sadly, the characters in this story are borrowed from the TV show 'Criminal Minds'.

**CHAPTER ONE:**

* * *

Jennifer "JJ" Jareau was tired, exhausted even. It had been a long case and the only reward was catching the unsub before he struck once again, although they had been too late to save the final two victims, so near but yet so far.

Her throat was sore due to all her screaming and sobbing for the weakened girl in her arms, who had been barely holding onto life by the thinnest thread. The ambulance took too long due to the traffic. JJ had stopped screaming and the tears slowly vanished when she realized that the victim was still, too still, too quiet and no longer taking short, shallow, painful breaths.

She had briefly glanced up when the medics came rushing in. The look on her face had stopped them in their tracks and with a sad sigh, they hung their head, somehow, ashamed of the fact that they hadn't tried harder to get through the traffic, leaving the victim in terrible pain in her final moments.

The humming of the plane was gently luring her into the darkness but she didn't want to sleep, not now, not with five of her co-workers so near. She knew that when the darkness came, the nightmares would be tagging along like an eager puppy following its master.

She glanced around the plane, smiling slightly when she saw Spencer Reid, the youngest member of the behavioral analysis unit, soundly asleep. She felt relieved that he was finally sleeping after the kidnapping.

She couldn't help but cry herself to sleep every night for weeks afterward, feeling guilty that she had agreed with his decision to split up. JJ deeply regretted the fact that she had not argued more firmly about the fact that she thought that it was a bad idea for them to separate. Instead, she had come out of the experience with a bite and new found fears of dogs. Better off than Reid.

She liked him, really liked him, but she didn't even know how to tell him – she even threw out some subtle hints that she was sure the others picked up on but not him. He still remained clueless to her feelings. For a genius, Spence could be an idiot. She just wanted to …

A mumbled snore pulled her out of her train of thought and she held back a giggle when she realized that it is none other than Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner. He is a great man, strong willed and extremely loyal to his team. She knew that he would do anything in his power to ensure that everybody was safe out in the field. He would be the person that she would call if she was in any trouble, no matter how small.

She had once called him with a hint of fear in her voice; unsure of how he would react, when her beloved car died for the final time on a winding road, basically in middle of nowhere. Without question, he came to her rescue, staying on the phone the whole time as he knew that she was terrified of being alone in the darkness, especially with the memories that her job elicits. He never once mentioned it since then nor expected any small favor in return for what he had done.

He was like her second father; she knew that he knew it even if they never said it out loud.

As she was reliving the times that he stood by her, she could feel the darkness lurking behind her eyelids. With a harsh rub to her eyes, she felt a little bit more refreshed. When her blurred vision returned to normal, straight away, she wished that she had her camera instead of storing it away in her luggage.

Penelope Garcia and Derek Morgan, somehow managed to tangle their bodies together on the uncomfortable couch at the back of the plane. Garcia got a small smile on her face as she snuggled into Morgan's chest. Even with the dim lighting of the plane, she could see Morgan was relaxed, something that she rarely ever saw. She was happy that they could be at ease and sleep with no evidence of nightmares from what they saw everyday. To be honest, she was jealous of the way that everybody on the plane could sleep when she couldn't.

With care not to wake her second best friend, Emily Prentiss, who had somehow managed to get into her heart quickly and unnoticeablely. Some days she told herself off for letting somebody so easily climb over the walls that she had taken great care to put up. However, other days, she was glad to have her – somebody she could trust not to betray her by telling others that she cried. Emily was one of a kind; she could make JJ feel so much better with some simple words or just a heartfelt hug. However, today she could not be comforted with hushed words or a gentle touch. JJ stood up, careful to avoid the paperwork that surrounded the girls, which they wanted to, needed to finish before the plane landed so that they could put the case to bed when they got back.

She held back tears as her mind flashed back to the look of despair and hope on the victim's face as JJ held her – wishing that help would come soon or death come easy but neither did. To her last moments, she gasped and struggled to get much needed oxygen into her lungs. Pain had seemed to have overtaken her entire body leaving no area unaffected. JJ shook off the feeling of failure, she had tried so hard to help and her hoarse voice proved that she had screamed with all of her might, begging but failing.

She knew that she had scared the rest of the team; they never saw her so out of control. They did not know how to react, not even Emily. As soon as the victim died in her arms, she regained her professional control and stood up, leaving the body behind, not daring to look at her again or look her co-workers in the eyes. She cannot breakdown again.

She could see the concern in their faces when she walked by them without one flick of emotion, ready to do her job as the team's liaison, feeding the media the information they craved. She hated giving bad news. Especially the news of the victims' deaths. They were too late and the media would eat that up with sadness but they had a duty to report to the public that the creep had been put behind the bars. The rest of the day had passed by in a blur and before she knew it, she was staring at Reid on the plane.

JJ wasn't looking where she was going and managed to trip over Hotch's foot. She cringes from the floor as she could see that he is waking up. "Sorry." she whispered as he glanced at her with confusion. "I wasn't looking." She added as she picked herself off the floor, ignoring the pain in her knees.

"It's okay. Where were you going?" he asked in hushed voice, careful not to wake the rest of the team up.

"Uh … I was just," she had not considered exactlywhere she was going. She had just needed to wake up some more. "Off to see the pilot. See how much longer it will take for us to get home."

Hotch had just nodded, giving her a brief smile, understanding that she needed to clear her head. He had tried to tell her that he would always be there for her through the love in his eyes but she seemed distant, not really there, just a shell. With a nod, JJ heads toward the cockpit, even if that wasn't her original plan. She might as well now that she had told her boss that's where she was headed. Sure not to make the same mistake twice, she walked slower, watching her every step. She could feel Hotch's eyes piercing into her back as she carefully made her way to the front of the plane. With a final look, she could see that Hotch was giving into the lullaby of the darkness as his eyes failed to stay open.

She thought of turning around, Hotch would never know, especially now that he was gently snoring. She is however curious about her former question. It would be nice to know how much longer it would be before she could sleep, out of everybody else's hearing, how much longer until nightmares claim her? She couldn't think like that, how much longer until she gets a decent cup of coffee? Better, but she sounded too much like Spence. Besides Luke, the pilot wouldn't mind her dropping by. He just had a baby girl and she knew that he would be dying to tell her all about the new addition to his family.

Luke also surprising made amazing coffee and she could wake Spence with the streaming smell before the plane bumps onto the ground. Her heart beat with joy as her mind fillied with the thoughts of Spencer Reid as she pushed the door to the cockpit open.

"Hello? Luke? It's Jennifer Ja-"she was stopped by the sight of the blood on the back of Luke's head.

Without thinking about it, her hand instantly went to the gun at her hip, prepared for anything.

"Come out with your hands on your head!" JJ tried to sound confident but even she could hear a hint of fear in her own voice. She just hoped that she was loud enough to wake the other agents up without making them panic too much. For all she knows, Luke could have just … fallen. Silence greeted her. She was terrified, it was too quiet. She just had a feeling that something was wrong, deadly wrong.

* * *

_Please Review :) Reviews are like oxygen, essential for life. _


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Soaring into the Unknown.  
**Summary:** Unknown to the team, there is a criminal on the plane. Could they survive and come out of the experience stronger than ever?  
**Author's Notes: **With Many Thanks to **REIDFANATIC** for the beta read! I am graceful to her for making my work the best it can be.  
Also I would like to thanks **DeviousRobynno**, **missiemeghan**, **MDarKspIrIt **and **Sue1313 **for the amazing reviews, made my day.  
Thank-you to **anyone else** who have read my story, hope this chapter is good enough for y'all!  
**Disclaimer:** This is a work of fiction. Sadly, the characters in this story are borrowed from the TV show 'Criminal Minds'.

* * *

JJ tried to muffle the flutters of the butterflies in her stomach as she still could hear the snoring of her boss. She knew that Hotch was the lightest sleeper and if he was still asleep then it is highly unlikely that anybody else would be up and aware of the danger that may or may not lie in the front of the plane.

"Jennifer Jareau. Do not yell. Put down your weapon." A firm voice rang out in the cabin. How did he know her name? She cringed, how could she forget that she was on television? "I will not repeat again. Put down your weapon." The tone hadn't changed. The voice remained calm. She knew that he was serious but what could he do? It's not as if he'd gotten one of her team as a hostage. As if he'd just read her thoughts, his voice rang out in the cabin again. "Miss Jareau. I will kill this man." The sound of the safety being released made her jump.

"But how do I know that he's not dead already?" She didn't know why she'd said that. Its just came out before she could get her thoughts in order. The criminal needed no words as he pulls Luke's hair back and she could hear a short painful intake of breath from the pilot.

Her hand pulls out the gun and with a dreaded feeling, she slid her much loved gun across the metal floor, watching as the criminal stepped out of the shadow and picked it up. She took a step back and stopped breathing for a moment. It couldn't be. Michael Eastbourne**.** He was supposed to be behind bars. She was there when they cuffed him. She was there when he stared at her, his eyes of pure evil burning into her soul. She was there when his laugh, echoed inside her ears for hours on end afterward. She was there only mere hours ago when she had watched the car that contained the unsub disappearing down the street.

She really thought that the previous heart wrenching case was now behind her, put away to gather dust. Instead, the criminal is standing in front of her, holding a gun to Luke's head, her team unaware that a real living nightmare is lurking so close to them.

"What about the plane?" JJ shyly asked, she mentally hit herself again, where the hell did she get the courage, especially now that she is weaponless, apart from the small knife in her shoe. It may be useful later.

"Have you really forgotten everything about me, Miss Jareau?" Michael's voice was calm, powerful, the kind of voice that could grab hold of your soul and twist it around slowly but surely.

JJ's mind is rushing through the facts that the team knew about Michael Eastbourne. He is 38. He is still living with his mother. He once had a girlfriend, short, petite, brunette, who dumped him for another man after 16 years. He had been killing similar girls for four years afterward, always moving and always so careful. He was fired from his job at the Air Force due to the fact that he was performing too many tricks in his jet. He liked to torture his victims for a week until their own bodies give out on them. Wait, backtracking. He used to be a pilot. How could she forget that important information? He used to be a freaking pilot; of course he could fly the plane. She smiled inside, silently and happily. Michael cannot do anything – he cannot fly the plane and hurt anybody on the plane at the same time.

"Lukie Boy. Wake up." Michael smirked at JJ. She shivered, what was happening? She could swear that her heart stoped beating for a long moment as Luke gave a short laugh that tore through her soul. It was at the same moment that she realized that the blood's too dark to be real. Luke turns around and smiles at her, his eyes holding no regret.

"Sorry JJ. I'm doing this for little Amber. Michael here has been my best friend since the air force. I couldn't just leave him."

"But he is a murderer." JJ's heart beat once again, with each beat came a new wave of pain, of betrayal and fear.

"The girls deserved it. Michael is a good man. Your team are stupid for not seeing that, I am sorry JJ but I've got to let him have his revenge on you lot for putting him away. He was only taking the two-faced bitches off the street, making the streets a better place. Can't you see, Jennifer?"

JJ could hear the tone of pleading in Luke's voice, begging for her to understand the situation. She looked at Luke and then to Michael, measuring up her options of what she could do. Could she wrestle the gun out of Michael's deathly grip? What about the knife in her shoe? She could see that Michael was watching her, judging.

She took a step back and Michael came closer, showing his powerful stance. Controlling her movements with just his eyes. As soon as she could feel his body heat enveloping her, she brought her knee up, colliding with his most painful part and at the same time, bringing her faithful knife out of her shoe. She pushes forward wildly, just hoping that the blade would strike some part of his body.

Instead, she is met by thin air and sharp, painful grip on her upper arm – the only thing to stop her from falling flat onto her face. She let out a yelp of pain, she just hoped that she was loud enough for somebody, anybody to wake up and help her.

"Miss Jareau. Stop struggling or I will murder every single person on this plane, in front of you. You would not like that, would you, Miss Jareau? Knowing that it is your fault for the deaths of your team." He sniggers, raising hairs on the back of JJ's neck, "your family."

JJ's eyes snaps open. The last phrase of what he'd just said rang true in her ears. Her family. She loved them, especially Spence. Instantly, she stopped trying to pull away from the aching pain in her arm and looked at him straight in the eyes. "Don't hurt them." JJ gasped as he dragged her toward the door, the way to her family. "Please."

"I won't, as long as they behave themselves, there would be no need for any addition harm. However, I would need a hostage. Preferly not awake."

JJ's face creases in confusion. Not awake? She didn't understand what he meant by his statement. She quickly realized what he was hinting at when she saw the end of the gun crashing down onto her head.

"Ouch." She moaned and tried to bring her hand up to swipe the blood away but Michael held her arms firmly and said something that she could not understand. She could feel a searing pain in her arm, through blurred vision she could see that he'd just stabbed her with a needle. As she could feel the darkness creeping up on her, she mumbled a short sorry for Spence. She felt badly that she got him into trouble again and so soon after the Tobias' kidnapping.

"Sweet dreams, Miss Jareau, Sweet dreams."

* * *

_Please Review - they are just as precious as chocolate chips cookies. :)_


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** Soaring into the Unknown.  
**Summary:** Unknown to the team, there is a criminal on the plane. Could they survive and come out of the experience stronger than ever?  
**Author's Notes: **With Many Thanks to **REIDFANATIC** for the beta read! I am graceful to her for making my work the best it can be.  
I would also like to say many thanks to the readers, especially those who reviewed, so big thank-you to **DeviousRobynno**, **sydcasy**, **egoofy34**, **wounded-heart** and **Sue1313**. Your reviews actually made me smile – it is nice to know that the readers are actually enjoying my story!  
Thank you to rest of the readers for … well reading.  
**Disclaimer:** This is a work of fiction. Sadly, the characters in this story are borrowed from the TV show 'Criminal Minds'.

* * *

He knew something was wrong before he even opened his eyes. There was something in the air, an evilness. Reid slowly got up, glancing around the cabin. One, two, three, four. He recounts quickly, rechecking like he does in his everyday life. Recheck, making sure that he is right before he let the words escape from his mouth.

Just four. Garcia, Morgan, Hotch and Emily. He would have to tease Morgan later, payback. For now, he cannot help but worry about JJ. He knew that she was tired and in great need of some sleep. He also knew that she would not want to appear weak in front of the team, the morning was a mistake – he was sure that she was ashamed of letting them see her like that. Crying, screaming, desperate.

Reid wanted to hug her, whisper hushed words in her ears but he was glued to the ground, unable to move, unable to help.

Where was she? He sat up, looking. Even if he could sense some evil in the air, he was happy in the thought that she would just be with Luke, he could tell by the slightly open door at the front of the plane.

He looked out of the window, opening the bind slightly and the sunlight came rushing in. 'God,' he thought, 'it's daytime already?' He quickly closed the bind, mumbling useless statistics to keep his mind off the horrible gut feeling. 45 of Americans don't know that the sun is a star. How could they not know? What do they think the sun is, a freaking planet?

Reid's head snapped around when he heard a mumbled yelp followed by silence. He let out a breath that he hadn't known that he was holding when he could see movements in the shadowed room. It was probably just JJ squealing over the cute photos of Luke's new baby. Alex? Amy? He didn't know, although he is more than sure that it started with an A.

He could feel the air changes again, more fear. He looked at the team but they were still sleeping. He tried to shake the feeling out of his gut as it is rumbling and trying to tear its way out. He stood up, stamping on his right foot harshly but quietly, trying to get rid of the pins and needles in his foot.

"Sit down, Dr. Spencer Reid." A voice rang out in the cabin. He knew who it was before he swung around.

"Michael?"

"Sit down."

Reid could feel the colours draining away from his face as he saw JJ unconscious in his arms. Blood seeping down her face and she is mumbling about nothing in particular.

"Jayje!"

The whole cabin came to live as Garcia screamed, realizing that her best friend is in great danger. The rest of the team are on their feet, confused to why their sleep had been so rudely interrupted.

In the chaos, Michael remains calm. Keeping his grasp on the girl, he pulls out a gun. "Silence. Otherwise, young Miss Jareau will get a bullet in her head."

"Leave her alone. She hasn't done anything wrong," ordered Hotch as he tried to regain the control of the situation. He could see that the rest of the team were equally worried for JJ, especially with the head wound that would not stop bleeding. He looked back quickly and saw that Reid was sitting down, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the edge of the seat tightly.

"Sit down." Michael repeated, holding JJ's head back so that she gave out a slight groan of pain. The sound that came out of JJ's mouth made the team sit down rapidly.

"Good." Michael smirked at the team, watching their every move as he stroked JJ's blonde hair. So soft, like her skin. By the mumbling that doesn't make sense, he knew that soon, a nightmare would pay her a visit, free of charge. He just hoped that it would be his worthless victims that haunt her sleep. He was highly proud of his work, keeping them alive for a week. No more, no less than seven days filled with pure torture. Seven days of screaming for mercy, sobbing for forgiveness, begging for life. He loved the power; it gave him an amazing high, better than any drugs could. He could see that the other team members were getting annoyed, angry even with the silence. "Luke will be landing the plane in about an hour." Michael liked to get straight to the point, no point of messing around when you could say what you really meant in few words. Why even bother going the long way?

By the looks of their expressions, he knew that they wanted to speak, ask questions. He decided to save them the bother.

"We will be landing in Canada. Lovely weather there, besides I have a friend who would be more than happy to provide me the transport to my house. Miss Jareau will be fine; she just has a small bump to the head and a small amount of drug. She should be waking up soon enough."

"What drug?" asked Reid meekly, he just needed to know – he didn't want her to go through the same thing he did, not being able to go through a single day without a dose of drug. It had taken all of his powers and happy thoughts about JJ to give up his safety net. He would not lie, he loved the feeling that the drugs brought – taking him away for a short amount of time from the horrible visions that occur everyday in his job. Even though ten months passed by since he took his last dose, he still had the urge to allow the liquid to enter his bloodstream and hide his thoughts and pain for a short while. JJ is the only thing to stop him. Now she is in front of him, passed out due to the drug running throughout her blood, causing disorderedness.

Michael grinned. "Dilaudid."

Emily gasped. She wasn't really listening to what the others were saying, too focused on the softly moaning JJ with beads of sweat sliding down her forehead. She could remember what she learnt about that particular drug, she researched it after finding out that it was what Tobias had injected Reid with. She just wanted to help. Her mind rushes through the facts.

Side effects include dizziness, constipation, sweating, light-headedness, nausea, vomiting or worse, sedation. She tried to wipe the memory of Reid falling down to the floor like a rag doll, flopping around as she moved onto more facts. Massive overdose could lead to circulatory system collapse and/or death. She was fairly sure that JJ'd only had one small dose so she shouldn't have to worry so much but she was still very nervous as JJ's head wound is still bleeding, dripping onto the cabin floor, forming a small puddle.

She could see the guys' fists clenching and unclenching and their eyes were filled with hated and fear. Reid is focusing on Michael. 'If only looks could kill,' she thought, 'Michael would be dead five times over.'

She reached over and grabbed hold of Garcia's hand when Michael jerks JJ as she is waking up. She needed to make sure that Garcia would not take any extreme actions and put JJ in any more danger due to the fact that she is the only person on the plane not to have any form of FBI training.

"Emily. Will she be okay?" whispered Garcia, her glance never leaving her best friend. She could not believe this, she was having a perfect evening, snuggling up to her brand, spanking new boyfriend. They were even going to tell the rest of the team at the dinner but now so it seemed, that plan had gone to hell. She dared to break her glance for a moment and let her sight fall on Morgan. Gosh, he was so handsome. Her prince, with evil in his eyes, although, she knows that she should not like it, she is proud to have the knowledge that Morgan would do anything for the team, his family.

"I don't know." Emily gave Garcia's hand a tight squeeze as she took a step forward, willing to take one for the team. "Let her go, Michael. We can just sit down, talk."

"No," straight to the point like always. Hotch didn't like that, he didn't like the confidence that oozed from the criminal. He could only be happy about the fact that they all have their guns, hidden. That could help them.

"Michael, what do you want?" Hotch only hoped that the short question would link with the felon, seeing that he did like to make things short and quick, unlike the deaths of his victims.

"Revenge."

"For what?" Morgan finally decided to make himself heard, he'd been quiet, studying and watching Michael's every move, looking for a weakness. He only found his own weakness, a member of his family in danger. He felt like crying even if he was the 'muscle' of the group but he valued family strongly especially the girls.

"Stopping me from taking the worthless bitches off the street," he said. "Did you not see that I was just simply trying to make the world a much better place?" He tore his glance away from the team for a moment as JJ whimpered and struggled slightly. Reid chose that moment to whipped out his gun.

"Let her go." Reid didn't know where he got the new found confidence from as his voice sounded controlled and calm unlike the feelings inside of him. He could hear Hotch cursing under his breath, it was at that moment when he realised that he made a terrible mistake.

Michael's mouth moved into an amused smile as he hoisted JJ up so that his right hand is holding her throat, making her choke. His left hand put the gun into his pocket, leaving his left hand free – showing, mocking that he can overpower them with just one hand.

"Dr Reid, I expect you would like to hand me that gun before Miss Jareau dies. The rest of you will also give me your guns."

Reid struggled with the decision; he could see that the colours are draining from JJ's face, her eyes fluttering gently as if she can't decide whether to wake up or not.

He looked at Hotch, begging him to take control.

"Okay, just let go. Let her breath." Emily took control, seeing that everybody else was frozen, unsure how to deal with it.

She knew that both Hotch and Morgan would hate themselves afterward for not taking control. All their training vanished from their minds as they watched the blood drip.

Michael loosened his grip; JJ immediately woke up as the oxygen rushed back to her lungs. She took in a gulp of air, her brows creased in confusion as the rest of the team slid their guns toward her.

She was about to take a step forward but she felt light headed and she could feel a hand steadying her, she could hear Hotch shouting something about stopping the bleeding. She hoped that the team was okay.

Why couldn't she see the light? Why was the darkness keeping her a prisoner? She didn't want to dream.

Reid could feel a tear running down his cheek as Michael dumped JJ onto the floor, ensuring that she is behind him as he picked up all of the guns, taking them apart.

"Stay here." Orders Michael as he picks up JJ by the hand, dragging her to the front of the plane so that he could dump the unneeded guns on Luke.

While the rest of the team watched JJ moaned with every pull, they could see that she was trying to wake up again.

"Luke?" asked Garcia, she looked up to Morgan with tears in her eyes; it broke his shattered heart into thousands of pieces. He is not sure if his heart could beat easily again after this. The silence in the air answered Garcia's question. They are unsure but by the looks of things, it seems that their faithful pilot has changed sides. They could not believe it. Luke was a part of the team, always laughing and joking with them – making the plane a more pleasant ride and when he knew that all they wanted was sleep, he dimmed the lights and drew the binds closed, playing soft music to help lure them into stress free sleep. He used to be a great person that anyone of the team could talk to, never passing judgements or just to talk when all they wanted was to listen to a 'normal person', trying to imagine what it would be like without the crimes in the world. They just sat in silence, alone with their thoughts. Trying to work out plans of how to take back the control but they were coming up with nothing, especially as they were in the mid-air and weapon less.

"Let me go! Get off!" the yelling brought the team into action as they jumped to their feet, they did not know how she'd woken up so quickly and being able to realise that she was in danger.

Hotch took the first step and rushed to the front of the plane, he tripped over a dropped gun part. Without checking if his boss is okay, Morgan jumps over the man, seeing nothing but rage.

"Stop right there or I will shoot." A voice rang out but they kept on running, only stopping when a gun shot rings out.

Michael just laughs, "Bang!"

* * *

_Please Review – they released happy feelings making for one very happy JoyfulFarah. _


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** Soaring into the Unknown.  
**Summary:** Unknown to the team, there is a criminal on the plane. Could they survive and come out of the experience stronger than ever?  
**Author's Notes: **With Many Thanks to **REIDFANATIC** for the beta read! I am graceful to her for making my work the best it can be.  
I would like to express my appreciation to the reviewers, **egoofty34**, **shell2005**, **DeviousRobynno**, **Sue1313 **and **0x-Em-x0**. You have gave me the courage to carry on.  
Thank you to the rest of the readers – keep on reading :)  
**Disclaimer:** This is a work of fiction. Sadly, the characters in this story are borrowed from the TV show 'Criminal Minds'.

* * *

"Morgan!" Garcia pushes away Emily and tripped over Hotch, landing close to her knight. "Speak to me." She searched his face for any sign of life; she did not see anything apart from her precious man falling after the loud gun shot shrieked around them.

"I'm okay. Stay calm, baby girl." Morgan exhaled; he knew that he was lucky, moving out of the way in time. He could guarantee that he felt the burning bullet touching him as it made its way to any target. "How is everybody? Hotch … JJ?"

Morgan whined as he pulled his body up, he took a hard impact on the floor, just wanting to ensure that he was out of the harm's way.

"I am okay, just a little sore." Breathed Hotch as Emily helped him up, careful not to touch his injured leg where he crashed onto the chair.

Amidst the mayhem, Reid managed to be standing in front of Michael, nearly touching JJ.

"Spence?"

Reid's soul screams, didn't she know that he would do anything to swap places with her?

"He cannot help you darling."

"Michael! Get in here!" Luke shouted out, his voice full of despair and dread. Reid could see a small sign of terror in Michael's eyes as he pushed JJ into the table next to him, knocking her out again as she wasn't alert enough to react.

Reid did not care what is happening in the cockpit, all he cared about at this very moment was that JJ was alive and in his arms. He carefully moved her blonde hair out of her eyes but they were too tangled with blood, instead he just tore his jacket's sleeve and applied it to her wound. His fears of her hooking onto drugs are over, she would not want more after just one small dose.

"What happening?" whimpered Garcia as she stared at the door, inside the room is a hushed argument. None of them dared to move although they wanted to be close to JJ. Morgan made the first move, grabbed hold of Garcia; they headed toward the youngest members of the group.

"I don't know, babe. I don't know," whispered Morgan as Garcia gave him the wounded puppy glance, needing to know what is happening.

"Sit down and buckle your seat belts." Michael stormed into the cabin, his eyes wildly searching the plane. Nobody moved.

"Now!" His voice had changed, no longer in complete control. "You three, back of the plane. I don't want any nuisance."

Reid was torn between obeying the man's wish and staying with JJ. He just had a feeling that Michael would go mad if Reid refuses to move but his love for JJ overpowers the wish of the madman.

"Come on, Reid. Keep applying pressure to her head, I will carry her. Don't worry I am not going leave her behind either." Morgan spoke softly as he carefully lifted up JJ, surprised about the weight – she is just skin and bones.

"Leave her," commanded Michael, as he pushed Emily and Hotch to their seats near the front of the plane. The couple didn't complain, instead they watched as Reid and Morgan gave Michael a glance, letting him know that they are not going to give JJ back, not now.

"Forget it."

Hotch swung around; did he just give up that easy? Something serious must have happened. He gave Emily a look which she returned with a shrug, she was just as confused as he was. He watched as Michael herded them forward, they are barely near the seats when the plane suddenly lurched, sending the five flying forward.

He hardly has time to register before he grabbed hold of Garcia, swinging her around so that she was between himself and Emily.

He tried to grab somebody else but the powerful air pinned him to his chair.

As debris flew around him, he closed his eyes and wished that he could save more of his team but the knock that he took to the head from some flying rubble was making him tired.

Reid was confused, he was not sure where he was, he could just feel the plane bludgeoning to the ground. He wildly moved around, trying to find another human contact. He found one, but it is too hard to even turn his head instead, he just held on, hoping that it is JJ. If Reid had had to guess, he would have said that the bullet had pierced one of the walls, sucking pressure from the cabin and therefore, forced Luke, to make an emergency landing.

As debris flew around him, he closed his eyes and wished that they would land safety, on ground. He hated water.

Garcia shouted for Morgan, she did not know what the hell she was doing, she couldn't even hear herself. She let a tear slide down her face, the harsh air screamed and tore at her face. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a flash of blonde hair. With all of her effort, she nudges Hotch, encouraging him to look to his right but he will not wake up. She sobbed, the warm touch on her left hand made her feel a little better, at least she is not alone in this. She had Emily.

As debris flew around her, she closed her eyes and wished that they would survive, and would laugh about this in a year's time.

Morgan clasped his ribs, pain rushed through his body. He tried to breath but couldn't, air was moving way too fast. He groaned half with pain, half with frustration. How could he let go so easily? Sure he might be shocked but that does not give him the right to give up so easily. He knew that he is in the cockpit and he could feel another human contact on his arm, he just hoped that it wasn't Luke, the bastard but his princess.

As debris flew around him, he closed his eyes and wished that his family were okay.

Emily was crying, she never ever cried. It was a sign of weakness, her mother would tell her; do not cry in front of people or even in private. However, she also never ever had a family, a proper, a close knitted family that she cared so deeply about. With all of her force, she placed her hand over Garcia's, offering her a small comfort in the situation.

As debris flew around her, she closed her eyes and wished that the plane would be, as silly as it sounds, by some miracle fixed before they touched the ground.

JJ was aching. She didn't know what was going on – her head was in extreme pain and she couldn't feel her legs. The last thing she could remember was watching Spence's lips vaguely moving as he mumbled in his sleep. It was something about the fact that 54 million Americans mow their lawns, using 800 million gallons of gas per year. She sobbed; even a small smile brought her pain.

As debris fly around her, she closed her eyes and wished that the throbbing pain would go away.

With a shudder and a groan, the plane split into two, the force of the air tearing and ripping the tiny hole bigger. The plane whines as it hits the ocean, floating for a moment. The night is brought to a sudden still but then with loud bubbling, the plane gave up the fight to stay afloat.

* * *

_O' Read, Read, Read, Read, Reader, won't you write me a review?  
O' __Read, Read, Read, Read, Reader, I want one for my ego.  
__:)_


	5. Chapter 5

**Title:** Soaring into the Unknown.  
**Summary:** Unknown to the team, there is a criminal on the plane. Could they survive and come out of the experience stronger than ever?  
**Author's Notes: **With Many Thanks to **REIDFANATIC** for the beta read! I am graceful to her for making my work the best it can be.  
I would like to shout out 'many thanks' to the brilliant reviewers, **CriminalMindslur21**, **didi2909**, **egoofy34**, **shell2005**, **missiemeghan**, **MDarkspIrIT, LoganSunshine**, **DeviousRobynno **and **A-zla**.  
To my other readers – thank you for reading :)  
**Disclaimer:** This is a work of fiction. Sadly, the characters in this story are borrowed from the TV show 'Criminal Minds'.

* * *

Water, he didn't like this. Crawling and leering at him. Blinding him for a moment, all he could see was blue, blue and yet more blue. He gagged, trying to breathe in air but water took its place. Moving around, he could see a flash of yellow, with his chest getting tighter every second that passed him by, he started swimming towards the light.

With a gasp, he grabbed hold of a piece of floating wreckage. He really needed to take up Morgan's offer to go to the gym. His muscles were giving out a dull ache.

He dizzily took a quick look around at his surroundings. He could see a body flowing – so far away that he couldn't see who it is. With a cry, he pushes off the wreckage and slowly made his way through the remains of the plane, he tried to swim faster but then he would keep getting water in his mouth.

Within minutes which felt like hours, he arrived at the body. Luke. His brain told him to leave him, after all, the pilot did betray the team but his heart was the one that took action as he turned the body over and with difficulty, started CPR. He knew that this is what JJ would have wanted.

He tries to hush the feeling of murder when Luke starts coughing and spitting out sea water.

With what energy he has left, he pulls Luke onto a drifting board. Ensuring that Luke was secured, Reid heaved himself onto a separate aircraft piece, taking in a wider view of the ocean.

"Hello?"

His voice echoed, nothing answered him apart from the sounds of the waves rocking and crashing onto the broken aircraft.

Morgan knew something was wrong when the touch on his arm disappeared and he was all alone. He was still alone. Just floating, letting the current decide his fate for him. He could hear somebody yelling.

With new found liveliness, he balanced himself on the aircraft's door so that he was standing. He couldn't see anything but he really did hear something.

"Hey!" he yelled as loud as he could, screaming even. He paused, praying for a reply.

A voice responds although he was not sure what was being said but it was a voice nevertheless.

"Where are you?" he swung around as quick as he could without falling off balance. He waved his arms wildly as he could see two dark dots on the horizon.

He grinned when he could see arms waving back. Ignoring the pain in his chest, he grabbed hold of a long piece of the wreckage and used it as an oar. His grin began to fade away when he realised that after just five metre, he was short of breath. Putting it down as the overuse of his voice, he pushed on, his chest burning and his forehead breaking out in sweat.

With each gasp, he pulled in the water with the oar.

He didn't feel as if he was getting any closer, his arm refusing to work any harder and his chest screaming at him to stop, rest. Morgan couldn't stop, not when he was so close. He could see that it is Reid waving, happily yelling at him and there is somebody else on the separate board next to him but he couldn't see who it was, a man? He could feel his chest getting tighter and tighter, squeezing the life out of his heart. He brought his hand to the place where it hurt the most, he held in a cry as the area burned with a slight touch.

Reid was worried. Morgan was not getting there as fast as he could. He was a strong man who would work out everyday and teased Reid so often about only exercising to the coffee machine to get his precious godly liquid. He stopped yelling, although he is so happy that he was not the only one in the open ocean, he could see that Morgan was in pain, severe pain.

"Morgan? Just wait there; we will come to you instead."

Reid's worry only grew when Morgan did not argue; instead he just dropped his oar and clutching his chest, focusing on his breathing.

Reid took his belt off, with a great effort, he tied it around Luke's board to his, leaving him with two free hands to struggles toward Morgan.

He copied Morgan's idea and grabbed hold of what seemed like the strip of a table, he rowed toward Morgan. Struggling as he was fighting the current but at least, it is helping him in some ways by pushing Morgan toward him.

His arms were burning and he felt out of breath but he knew it is because he was not used to this sort, this much exercise. Looking back, he could see that Luke was stirring, unbalancing the board. He panicked slightly but instantly relaxed when he saw that he'd just bumped into Morgan.

Morgan couldn't stop the cry as Reid violently bumped into him. Pain spreads in his body – he cannot remember being in this much pain before in his life.

Reid didn't know what to do. From the look of Morgan's chest wall, a portion was moving separately from the rest of the chest. He could hear a sickly grating sound every time Morgan took in a frayed breath; he knew that Morgan had a broken rib, maybe two.

For the life of him, he couldn't remember the proper treatment for treating this particular injury.

"Stay still." Yes, that sounds about right, just taking extra care not to make the injury any worse.

Luke mumbled but Reid just ignored him, just because he had the guts to save him, didn't mean that he have to take care of the enemy.

"You seen anybody else?" mumbled Morgan, his eyes drifting shut. He was so tired; so tired from the pain and the cold.

"No, just Luke here," Reid looked over to Luke, watching the man getting more awake as each wave washed over his body. "I saved him."

Morgan could see slight of regret in Reid's eyes. He looked the young man in the eyes but Reid looked away, nervous of what Morgan might think of him saving somebody that just stabbed them in the backs. He searched the ocean for anybody else. He really wanted to see JJ again; he needed to know that she'd be okay. He would never forgive himself for letting her go so easily, especially when she was in so much pain and so innocent.

Morgan's mumblings tore him out of his thoughts about the blue eyed, blonde supernatural being.

"At least his daughter would have a father; even if he is going to be in jail for a large part of her life." Morgan's speech is getting slower and more tattered. "Reid?"

Reid tore his glare away from the ocean when he heard his name. Panic filled him up inside like a bad smell. Morgan was asleep. With awkward movements, he pulled himself onto the floating door, cringing slightly when it dipped under his added weight. He shook Morgan gently, cautious of his ribs.

The handsome man didn't even stir while Luke was incoherent and shivering.

Crying out of fear of going through another incident alone, Reid whined and begged Morgan to open his eyes. "Wake up, please. Wake up, Morgan. Garcia will kill me."

* * *

_Please Review, I live off them along with cookies and goat milk. _


	6. Chapter 6

**Title:** Soaring into the Unknown.  
**Summary:** Unknown to the team, there is a criminal on the plane. Could they survive and come out of the experience stronger than ever?  
**Author's Notes: **With Many Thanks to **REIDFANATIC** for the beta read! I am graceful to her for making my work the best it can be.  
I would also like to give my graceful thanks to **CriminalMindsluvr21**, **egoogy34**, **shell2005**, **A-zla**, **grahamag**, **DeviousRobynno **and **Sue1313**.  
Thank you to my other readers for getting this far :)  
**Disclaimer:** This is a work of fiction. Sadly, the characters in this story are borrowed from the TV show 'Criminal Minds'

* * *

"I will kill him." Garcia was freezing, her hand still clutching Emily's. She was angry at Luke for landing them in an ocean. He had always bragged that he would always be able to land on ground, safety, no matter what – he was just all mouth, no actions.

"That's nice." Exhaled Emily, she wasn't really listening. She is a weak swimmer and already she could feel her muscles blazing with pain. She was grateful for the contact with Garcia as she would have surely panicked without support in the wavy water.

She could remember Hotch had pushed them forward, ushering them toward the end of the plane where it has been broken off as the water swiped around their feet. She could remember shouting when Hotch turned around to find another member of the team. She could remember yelling as the cold water rushed over her body.

Garcia only realised that Emily wasn't the strongest swimmer in the world when she kept going under, gagging and coughing every minute. Garcia grabbed hold of Emily's hand, ignoring the flashback it brought when the plane went down. She looked around but found it difficult as her vision was limited. She wasn't sure when she'd lost her beautiful glasses. Instead of worrying about them, with strong kicks, she dragged herself and her best friend to some place, only stopping when she bumped into something, part of the plane, through her blurred sight, she could see that it is a part of the wing.

"Hold onto this. I will get on and then pull you on, gorgeous."

Emily smiled, Garcia could always make light of anything. She loved that about the blonde technician.

With fear in her gut, Emily hastily let go of Garcia's hand, wanting to get it over and done with. Kicking extra hard, she struggled to stay afloat.

Garcia heaved herself onto the wing, struggled as there are no grips. Her clothes weighted her down; she just put extra effort into pulling herself onto the silver aircraft, after all Emily was depending on her as well. When she felt the water slowly disappearing from her clothes and the sunlight struck down onto her, she stopped struggling, taking in the warmth.

With a deep breath, she grabbed hold of Emily under her arms and pulled, both trying as hard as they could. They gasped, relieved to be out of the chilling water but the feeling didn't last when they looked out over the ocean, the rubble of the plane blocking their view of anybody else of their team.

They glared at each other, their eyes doing the talking for their mouths. After resting for a short time, they moved the boat using their arms and legs. Moving quickly, scanning every part of the area.

"Where are we?" asked Garcia. Emily did not reply.

"Where are they?" Garcia tried again, rephrasing the question, hoping that silence would not greet her again.

Emily definitely did not have a reply for that question, instead she just kicked harder, moments later, Garcia's legs added to the speed.

Hotch was shattered, he had just swam a long distance, pushing the metal with two bodies on it. The current had taken them too far from the wreckage and he knew where the rest of the team would be so he swam. He created a blood trail, blood of both JJ and Michael, wishing as he did that sharks did not live in this particular place.

If he had a choice, he would have left Michael behind but as the pole that was impacted in JJ's shoulder went through to Michael's stomach, it would have meant that he would have to leave JJ behind as well.

He would cross the bridge of how to deal with Michael when he came to it. For now, he was fading – he found it a struggle to involve moving the casualties too much. He didn't know what he would have done if the plane had been sinking any faster.

They were sitting on the wing; he had worked out which door would lead to that section of the plane so that he didn't have to drag them into the water.

He stopped kicking when JJ groaned as Michael shifted in his sleep.

"JJ?" asked Hotch, his next question remained unasked. He moved himself around the board so that his head was levelled with JJ's fluttering eyes. "Stay still." With much effort, he reached over, grabbing hold of JJ's hand, hoping that it would calm her down. She stopped moving, whimpering into Michael's stomach as her shoulder burned. She could taste blood; it filled up her mouth and nose.

"Hotch?"

"Yes?"

"I can't breath," gasped JJ as she spit out more blood, Michael's blood. Hotch gasped as JJ's eyes rolled back into the back of her head. With one swift kick and a pull, he propped himself on the board. He needed JJ off Michael and on her back so that he could clear her airway.

Knowing that he might regret this later, he pulled the pole out. His gut bubbled as he heard the sickly sound of the pole scratching the flesh. Tears tumbled down from his tired eyes as JJ shuddered as if she was trying to shake the pain away.

Throwing the bloody pole into the water, he flipped JJ onto her back. Not even giving Michael a second glance as he moaned and clutched his wound.

"Breathe. Just breathe." Hotch's mind flashed back to the CPR training that he had received.

Step one, check JJ for unresponsiveness. He gently shook her shoulders, letting the blood seeps through his fingers. She remains still, her face turning blue.

'Oh God,' he thought as he realised that the next step would be to call 911. His phone was soaking wet, death by drowning. Scratch that out, move on.

Step three, tilt the head back and listen for breathing. Blocking out the noise of the roaring sea, he tried to listen. Nothing, he couldn't even feel air greeting his ears.

Breathe for her, step four, he pinched her nose and blew his ragged breath into her mouth. Her chest rose and fell, another raggedy breath.

JJ still wasn't breathing by herself.

Step five. What was step five? Hotch cleared his head, now wasn't the time to lose his self-control. Chest compressions, that was it. Placing his hands on her chest, he began to pump. 100 times a minute, faster than a second.

"Come on, Jennifer."

100 pumps. His arms were tired but he pushed that thought out of his mind and breathed for her again. As soon as he gave her the first breath, she gasped.

Hotch beamed. He did like the feeling of smiling and especially when he was smiling at something good. It had been so hard since Haley left him, but for now, his heart swelled with happiness as JJ coughed, gasping for oxygen that her lungs so desperately need.

"You have a lovely smile." wheezes JJ as she clutched onto Hotch's jacket, unsure that she would not fall off. Hotch's smile grew; leave it up to JJ to pay him a compliment when she'd been greeting death only moments ago.

Hotch held JJ, applying much needed pressure to the gaping wound in her shoulder. She whimpered as Hotch laid her back down, letting her rest.

Michael coughed, blood leaking out of his stomach wound and out of the corner of his mouth. Hotch gave the sleeping but breathing JJ a final look before crawling over to the criminal.

He applied pressure to his serious wound, blood rushing out – he wasn't going to live for long.

Michael looked into Hotch's eyes.

"All I ever wanted was to make the world a better place, make my dad proud." Michael gasped as pain shot through his body like a fireball. Tear tumbled down from his eyes. He spat out blood.

"I am sure he is." Hotch said the first thing that came to his mind, wanting to make the villain's last moments on earth as stress free as possible, even if he did not deserve it.

He applied more pressure to Michael's wound, watching as the blood seep through the cloth, too much. He tried not to flinch when he could feel the warm thick liquid running through his fingers, blood of a criminal.

With a ragged breath, Michael mumbled, "Sorry."

The apology was heartfelt, although Hotch was not sure what he said sorry for. The man had died in his arms before Hotch got a chance to ask what the apology was for.

With pain in his heart, not even criminals deserved a death like that; he closed Michael's eyes and pushed him onto another piece of the aircraft, not wanting to deal with the smell that he knew would come from the body.

JJ had been awake for a short while, watching Hotch paying his respects. He was a great man.

As Michael drifted away from them, she echoed his words.

"Sweet dreams, Mister Eastbourne, Sweet dreams."

* * *

_Please Review__, I adore the reviews so much. _


	7. Chapter 7

**Title:** Soaring into the Unknown.  
**Summary:** Unknown to the team, there is a criminal on the plane. Could they survive and come out of the experience stronger than ever?  
**Author's Notes: **With Many Thanks to **REIDFANATIC** for the beta read! I am graceful to her for making my work the best it can be.  
I would like to show my gratitude to **didi2909**, **Sue1313**, **egoofy34**, **CriminalMindsluvr21**, **shell2005**, **DeviousRobynno **and **Carla-Leigh** by offering them a cyber cookie. Enjoy :)  
To others, keep on reading!  
**Disclaimer:** This is a work of fiction. Sadly, the characters in this story are borrowed from the TV show 'Criminal Minds'.

* * *

Reid was lonely. The lower half of his body was freezing while he kicked gently, steering the bigger board with difficulty, he'd dragged two fully grown unconscious men onto it so he did not have to try and keep three pieces of the broken airplane together.

He had bandaged up Morgan's ribs using a dress that he had fished out of a floating pink suitcase which he could only guess was Garcia's. He tied a jumper around Luke's head, stopping the blood flow.

Reid paused, just letting the board carry him for a while. He was so tired and so cold. He knew that he would have to keep moving to push a little bit of warmth into his legs but the numbness was welcoming. He disliked the throbbing pain that came with each kick.

He cautiously pulled himself onto the board, careful not to bump into one of the men. Groaning as his legs had gone stiff; he tried to wiggle his toes but was too tired to see if they did move.

He closed his eyes, letting the waves creep over him. He coughed when the salt water ran up his nose. He held back a sob; he had never been so lost, so alone. His thoughts kept going back to JJ and his guilt of letting her goes so easily.

There was so many things that he wanted to say to her.

"I am sorry that I never complimented you especially when you looked so beautiful in front of the camera. I am sorry I never told you that I admire you when you give the worst news to hopeful parents. I am sorry I didn't hold onto to you harder, I am sorry I gave up so quickly. I am sorry I never took better care of you so that you would never have to feel pain. I am sorry I never told you that I love you."

"That's nice man but my heart belongs to somebody else." Chortled Morgan as he drew in a shaggy breath. Reid jumped, nearly falling in the water. His mouth was simply just repeating what his mind was screaming.

"I... I was just …" mumbled Reid as he crawled closer to Morgan so he didn't have to twist his head to see Reid.

"You love her, don't you?" asked Morgan. He knew signs of love when he saw it, after all, his heart really was no longer his but Garcia's. He loved her words and fashion sense even if it is a little crazy at times. She was different, good different.

"No," sighed Reid as he twitched his fingers, his heart pounded. "I am in love with her."

The air doubled in tension as they realised that their loves are lost at sea. They may never see them again.

"I miss her." Said Morgan with pain in his voice, the pain in his ribs forgotten for a moment as the thought of his angel runs through his mind.

"I know."

Silence washed over them as Reid wordlessly helped Morgan into a sitting position so that they could scan the messy ocean for any signs of other lives.

The waves grew calmer, rocking the boat ever so gently – luring them into a troublesome sleep. Noises pulled Reid out of his gentle slumber, it sounded like hushed yelling. Waking up fully, Reid sat up so fast that he was sure he pulled a muscle in his stomach. His eyes desperately searched the horizon. He swung around so fast that the board that the men were on almost capsized.

Morgan woke up, confused about what was going on – Reid had become like a wild animal hunting its prey. Next to him, Luke was stirring due to the change in the air – hope.

"Hello?" yelled Reid as he waved his arms, making himself more obvious. He didn't care that he looked like a fool, screaming and wiggling his body like a snake.

He stopped screaming for a moment, leaving no sounds behind. He heard it again, a distant yelling. It sounded female.

"JJ!" Hope bubbled up inside of him. "Is that you?" Oh God, please let it be her. His heart beat faster when he could see two figures gesturing on the horizon. Reid jumped off the board, pushing it as hard and fast as he could.

Morgan felt helpless, he wanted to help – but his ribcage glowed with each movement. Instead, he could only shout – leading the others their way.

As they got closer, Reid's heart sank and his legs kicking slowed. No JJ.

"Reid? It's Garcia and Emily. Why are you slowing?" asked Morgan. He wanted to hug his princess, spilling out all of his love through touch. He could see that both of the girls were soaked – their limbs splashing water everywhere, not caring if they kept hurting themselves. All that mattered to them was that they had found other survivors.

Emily had shouted for so long, along with the blonde haired technician. Their voices had changed in pitch and tone, somewhat deeper but that didn't matter. They were not alone.

Garcia could hear the pain in Reid's answer, "No reason, just tired." She knew that he was disappointed; he had swum so hard to a person that never appeared. She smiled back when Reid apologised to her through his eyes, knowing that she could see right through him.

"My handsome hunk, your love lead me right here," grinned the ecstatic girl as she shuffled from one piece of aircraft to the next. Morgan chuckled, recoiling when the sharp pain hit him. Not wanting to waste another second, he held his arms out which Garcia gladly flew into gently. Placing her head on his chest, listening to his heart beating, she smiled as she recalled the first time she'd done that. Morgan had said, 'you hear that, girl? My heart is beating just for you.' Who knew he could be so corny?

Emily was still floating on her own, holding onto Reid's hand so that they wouldn't be apart again.

"Why don't you come on?" asked Reid as his hands became slippery due to the seawater spraying on them. Although they weren't JJ, he still loved them. He wanted nothing more than all the team back together, so he wasn't going to let go until he was sure that they would stay together.

Emily just merely smiled, "not enough room." She was touched by Reid's concern, with his hand gripping onto her tightly. She liked the warmth that it brought, different from Garcia. He was like a brother to her. She wanted to ask him if he had seen JJ or Hotch but was too afraid to learn the answer.

Silently, they all looked out to the ocean, with no need to say anything more. They were not out of the danger and they certainly did not feel complete. There were two pieces missing from each of their hearts.

Time passed them by and Luke had been pretending to be asleep since Reid jumped out off the board, alerting him that they had company. He had been waiting for the right moment, it was now. The others had been watching the sea for a while now, letting their guards down. He waited until his strength returned and his head didn't ache as much. From listening, he knew that Morgan had been injured so that left only three that he had to deal with.

Judging by the distance of the sound and the movement on the board, he knew that he could knock three off the board easily but somebody was on another board. He thought it was one of the girls. It was a risk that he would have to take. He had to get rid of them; they were making the world a bad place. That was what Michael said and Michael was never wrong. He wanted his daughter to be raised in the best possible world. She was only a little baby, needing her daddy to ensure that she is safe. By getting rid of the team, he would be one step closer to giving his child a brilliant life.

With his wife and daughter's images in his mind, he suddenly jumped up making the board wobble, throwing both Morgan and Garcia off into the icy water. Reid slipped onto the board that Emily was on. With anger in his mind, Luke charged at both Emily and Reid. The brunette stepped aside while Reid lost his balance and fell into the ocean. Luke spun around when he went too far, his hand striking out to hit Emily but she stopped it with ease. With her other hand, she hit Luke in the face, crying out as soon as Luke fell down, knocked out.

Without checking if he was okay, she dropped to her knee upsetting the balance of the board, holding out a hand to help the others back on the broken airplane.

The three worked together to pull Morgan, trying to not make his injury any worse. Garcia could see that he was in great pain by his strained breathing. They all lay down, exhausted from what had just happened but still aware of the fallen man next to them. They had managed to make room for everybody so that they could stay together.

"You did great, Emily," sighed Reid; he was ashamed of how he'd reacted to the situation. He blamed himself; after all he did bring Luke back from the dead. "Are you okay?"

Emily only grimed and held up her battered hand. "I think I broke it."

* * *

_Please Review – they are just as amazing as rainbows and puppies. _


	8. Chapter 8

_I have decided to update sooner than expected – especially for my amazing reviewers, _**Sue1313**, **shell2005**, **egoofy34**, **ohiocoolgirl **and **CriminalMindsluvr21**.

**Title:** Soaring into the Unknown.  
**Summary:** Unknown to the team, there is a criminal on the plane. Could they survive and come out of the experience stronger than ever?  
**Author's Notes: **With Many Thanks to **REIDFANATIC** for the beta read! I am graceful to her for making my work the best it can be.  
Also thank-you to my wonderful reviewers and readers.  
**Disclaimer:** This is a work of fiction. Sadly, the characters in this story are borrowed from the TV show 'Criminal Minds'.

* * *

"I spy with my pretty little eye something beginning with H."

Reid sighed; Garcia had just used the same letter for the same word for what felt like thousandth time. "Hunk?"

"No silly! Hottie," grinned Garcia while Morgan just laughed. Reid rolled his eyes when Emily just gave him an amused smile.

Garcia had decided to play a game to take both Morgan and Emily's minds off their pain. It had certainly worked although she ran out of things that she could see a long time ago. She watched Morgan's chest rising and falling, she could see that some of the ribs were broken as it moved differently. However, his breathing had become more controlled. She was so petrified when he'd struggled to stay afloat in the water, unable to move too much due to the searing pain in his torso. She had held him, kicking for two people, thankful that Reid was holding his own.

Emily had saved their lives at the cost of some broken bones. Her hand looked ugly to put it nicely. It was swollen and badly bruised. She kept cringing every time she subconsciously moved one of her fingers.

Morgan's eyes grew wide, unsure that he should believe what he was seeing. By the looks of things, it was two people, a male and JJ.

"Look. There's JJ and somebody else," gasped Morgan as he raised his arm to point toward the pair. He braced himself, expecting Reid to jump wildly and make the board sway but the movement never came. Instead, Reid just gazed out to the horizon as if he couldn't believe it. Who was the man? They only hoped that it was not Michael.

"JJ!" yelled Garcia as she waved her arms – Emily soon joined in, she stopped when Reid jumped off, trying to stop him but he just pushed her lightly out of way. As if a demon possessed him, he swam at a high speed and with powerful strength; it wasn't long until he reached JJ.

Morgan let out a breath he did not know he was holding when he realised that it was Hotch laughing while strictly admonishing Reid for not waiting instead of getting soaked once again. He lay back down, thanking God for letting all of his family live.

Emily was worried, JJ hadn't moved. She just remained in Hotch's arms but Emily knew that it wasn't too serious if Hotch's laughter could be heard. Instead with her good hand, she paddled, helping Garcia add to the speed slightly. She smiled when she saw that JJ was awake, battered but awake.

Garcia giggled when Hotch returned her wink. She reached over to hold JJ's hand, needing to be sure that she was there, alive and breathing. JJ gave her a weak smile, she was so pale.

"Handsome guy, we going have to move you to a bigger, nicer piece of aircraft," Garcia told Morgan as she could tell that the one that Hotch was floating on doubled the size that she was sitting on.

"Does it have cable?"

"Funny guy," smirked Garcia as she helped Morgan across, letting Hotch take hold of him. She held onto the piece while Emily awkwardly shifted across. Garcia was about to move on before she remembered Luke. She wasn't the sort of person to leave a man behind, no matter what. With an irritated huff, she pulled Luke across. She could feel five pair of eyes burning onto her back.

She looked at them and beamed when she saw that they could understand why she did what she had just done. She took a seat next to JJ, giving her a once over. She couldn't help but gasp at her nasty head wound and the way that blood leaked between Hotch's fingers as he kept it on her shoulder for pressure. She also looked deathly pale; her eyes drifted closed but hastily opened when Hotch pressed harder.

Hotch caught her confused glare. "It's the only way that I can get her to stay awake. I bored her with my talking." He explained as he shifted JJ in his arms, getting cramps in his fingers from the pressing. "Can you take over?"

Hotch tried to ignored Reid's wounded look. It wasn't that he didn't trust the younger agent, its just he would care too much about hurting JJ. Garcia knew that the pain would be good for the blonde agent so therefore, she was the best person for the job. Besides, he would have chosen Morgan in the first place but, by the way he was moving, Hotch could see he is injured.

Garcia pulled a face which JJ gave a small laugh to. She smiled at the injured girl, its not that she did not want to help, its just … blood. She had seen enough of it in her life time, let alone having to touch it. With care, she moved JJ onto her lap and placed her hand over Hotch's, preparing to add force to the wound. As soon as Hotch moved his hand, Garcia felt sick. It was a horrible wound, gaping and spitting out blood. She blocked the image out of her mind and pushed hard on the injury especially as JJ was entering the dreamland again. She blinked back a tear when JJ snapped her eyes open and looked up to her, with hurt in her eyes asking why she had to stay awake.

"You'll get used to it." Hotch told her, "It's for the best."

"I know." She looked away from the younger woman and checked everybody else over. Satisfied that nobody had received new injures apart from Reid's emotional pain of not being to help the love of his life, especially when he only just found her.

Reid was upset, he held onto JJ's hand tightly – letting her know that he was there. He wasn't going to leave her again, not now. He glanced around the board, smiling as he could feel slightly at ease with the people he loved the most surrounded him.

JJ's shoulder was so painful and the pain got stronger each time, her eyelids were closed for any longer than five seconds so she gave up trying to rest. She could feel Reid squeezing her hand but was too tired to respond. Instead she just let the good vibes wash over her and gawked at the dark clouds creating shapes in the sky.

Morgan could breathe again, his ribs forgotten for the moment. He laughed at Hotch's expression about the story that Emily was telling him of how she saved the team single-handedly. He didn't bother to correct her exaggeration. He was happy, his family are alright.

The pain in Emily's hand had spread throughout her arm but she just blanked it out, smiling as she could feel the warmth streaming from the team. She explained to Hotch in great detail what she had done, leaving out some information and added little white lies to make herself seem more of a hero, earning a chuckle from Morgan. She grinned as she went on to tell Hotch how she bit the shark on the nose. Happiness bubbled inside her, they were all back together.

Garcia shifted JJ's weight as she kept moving away from the pressure that Garcia was applying, trying to get away from the source of stinging pain. She gave everybody a smile with a twinkle in her eyes, happy that they were all alive.

Hotch was more scared than he would ever admit; the knowledge that his team was together, even though they were somewhat battered and bruised helped him combat his fear.

All they needed to do was get home, but at this moment, he was more concerned about the prospect of spending the night out here – especially with wounded members and storm clouds hanging over their heads.

* * *

_I got my arms, my hands, my fingers,  
my legs, my feet, my toes,  
and my liver, got my blood.  
I got life,  
I got my freedom  
I got life_

_And now all I need are my reviews. :) so please review!_


	9. Chapter 9

_Once again, a quick update because you lot had been too wonderful so I couldn't keep it away for much longer! Enjoy._

**Title:** Soaring into the Unknown.  
**Summary:** Unknown to the team, there is a criminal on the plane. Could they survive and come out of the experience stronger than ever?  
**Author's Notes: **With Many Thanks to **REIDFANATIC** for the beta read! I am graceful to her for making my work the best it can be.  
I would like to shout out _extra_ special thanks to the reviewers, **CriminalMindsluvr21**, **Sue1313**, **didi2909**, **egoofy34**, **A-zla **and **Shell2005**.  
And to the rest of the readers, thanks for reading :)  
**Disclaimer:** This is a work of fiction. Sadly, the characters in this story are borrowed from the TV show 'Criminal Minds'.

* * *

The storm rumbled around them, mocking them. The uninjured members of the team struggled to keep the board upright, yelling commands to each other.

Emily had been given the job of squeezing JJ's shoulder with her good hand. Her tears mixed with the angry raindrops as she felt she was failing at the job. Blood rushed through her hand and JJ's eyelids hadn't moved for a long period of time. Using her body, she pushed into the wound, grunting in anger as JJ only moaned in her sleep.

Hotch ached all over, he used every ounce of energy and all his strength to keep the board upright. God dammit, he was the leader. He needed to make sure that the team was safe. He was grateful that Reid and Garcia were helping too, although their minds were getting clouded with fatigue and the cold. He dared not even think about how JJ would be doing. They had no choice but to give the job to Emily – he had every faith in her. He knew that she would try.

He turned around, gazing at the two sleeping people and an annoyed woman as she struggled to keep her best friend awake. He told Emily through his eyes that it would be alright, she responded by throwing her body weight onto her good hand which made JJ gasp and glare up at Emily with annoyance. Emily returned the look with a grin, letting the blonde agent know that she wasn't sorry about the pain that she'd just caused if it meant that JJ would stay awake. Emily kept the eye contact with JJ, not letting her panic about the stormy sea and the waves that threatened to push them over.

She shivered as the freezing water slid down her back, she hunched over JJ – trying as best as she could to protect her from the dangerous elements.

"Land!" screamed Reid as he leaped into the water, Hotch joining him moments later. The water only came to their waist; they were so close but yet so far. Reid grumbled as he kept tripping, the waves crashing into him however he never lost his grip on the belt that connected to the board. He was going to bring them to safety; he had to be useful – his guilt had been eating away at him since he was the cause for the gaping hole in the plane that led to the crash.

He could have kissed the sand when he landed face first in the stuff but the belt cutting away at his hands reminded him that the struggle wasn't over.

With a howl, the men pulled the board away from the livid waves. Reid could have sworn that the waves growled when they came onto the land, upset that they had lost their preys. He stood up, desperate to get moving. Rain weighted him down and he couldn't see anything.

"What do we do?" yelled Reid, trying to be heard over the raging storm as he looked at Hotch. Needing somebody to take control – he would just mess up like he always did.

"Walk. Just keep walking." Commanded Hotch as he paused, letting Garcia off so she could help out. The storm grew louder and the wind howled around them. He pulled, struggling as the board refused to move, digging it heels in the sand.

Hotch growled, angry that he couldn't do anything, and then stood still, clearing his head so that he could think what to do. He knew that there was too much weight on the board. Seeing that Luke was awake but confused, he pulled him off, pushing him toward Reid to hold him. "Emily, I am going to ask you to walk with us. Sorry but we need as little weight as possible on the board."

Emily didn't argue; instead she pulled her jacket off, not listening to the protests that her body gave out. She tied it around JJ's shoulder as tight as she could, taking no notice of JJ's tears as she tried to hold back the pain. Even now, she didn't want to appear weak. Satisfied that the younger girl would be okay for the time being she dragged herself off the board; accepting Hotch's help to stand up.

Both Hotch and Garcia pulled the board, while Reid pulled Luke; taking a beating as he turned violent not wanting to be a hostage.

They walked, struggling as their muscles screeched and their clothes felt like lead.

Morgan moaned as each bump brought a new wave of pain through his body. He held JJ's hand as he knew that she was feeling the same, offering her a little comfort. He liked it when she squeezed his hand now and then, although he knew that she was only doing it because at some points, the pain became unbearable, so unbearable that she needed to pass it on to somebody else. He gladly accepted the pain in his hand.

JJ wanted this to be over. She wished that Emily had just let her sleep instead of waking her to searing pain in her shoulder as she stuck her finger in her wound. As a new wave of intense pain rushed over her, she squeezed Morgan's hand, not caring if he had a broken hand by the end.

Emily winched and whimpered as she tripped and landed on her swollen hand. She curled up into a ball, letting the pain wash over her. She gasped as she could see a bone sticking out – she immediately felt sick.

Hotch watched as she dry retched violently trying to get the horrible pain out of her body. He placed a hand on her back, trying to let her know that the pain would be over soon. He tried not to look at the hand, he knew that he had seen worse, much worse, but it was one of his team members that was crying out of tenderness. Knowing that she would not be able to move, he picked her up easily and placed her next to Morgan.

"Ha, surrounded by the ladies." Grinned Morgan, trying to put some lightness back into the tension and it worked for a moment with Emily forgetting her pain for a moment and JJ gave a weak smile.

"And you better keep your hands off them, Derek Morgan." Joked Garcia as she gave him a wink, grateful for feeling some of the tension in the dark air disappearing.

They walked on, shooting out some jokes and funny stories to keep the lightness in the atmosphere. They pulled Luke as he grumbled and tried to bring the darkness back and it was slowly working as he keep saying that they don't know where they were and JJ will properly be dead by morning.

JJ's eyes went wide the first time he'd said that and her heart shattered each time he repeated it. Emily tried to put it back together by saying that the team wouldn't let that happen to her but JJ only heard Luke's haunting words.

The rain eased as they came under cover of the trees. Reid smiled; the first break that they'd had in so long. Without telling the others, he set to work. Tying Luke to a tree roughly with his favourite tie just because JJ said that it suited him well. He made sure that Luke couldn't get far before setting out to collect some wood. Hotch saw what he was doing and helped after ordering Garcia to make the other three comfortable and warning her not to go anywhere near the pilot.

Reid was getting concerned when they couldn't find enough dry wood. The storm had made its mark on everything, soaking it. He dumped yet another useless piece of wood, he looked over to Hotch. He wasn't doing much better, furiously picking up many pieces of woods and dumping them.

Meanwhile, Garcia was telling them a story about the time that she rented out an ice rink to herself so that she could slide across it on her stomach. "Damn girl, why didn't you invited me?" chortled Morgan, he liked that idea. If they got out of this alive, he would have to do the same thing and invite the whole team. It would an amazing way to get rid of some stress that they would have built up inside them.

Several stories later, Reid and Hotch came back with armful of wood and set out to make a fire.

After numerous tries, the fire finally spitted into life and burned weakly in the damp air. They all scooped closer to the heat.

Throwing a ragged blanket that once lay on Morgan to Luke, not caring about the cold that he was sure to feel. Morgan wanted him to be still be alive by the end of the horrible nightmare so that they can lock the scum up.

JJ relaxed as Reid gathered her in his arms and warmth washed over her. She fell asleep, feeling safe that the people she loved the most surrounded her. Her last thought was that she hoped that she would open her eyes again.

One by one as the fire slowly died, the team fell asleep – the storm calming and the stars peeked out from behind the dark clouds.

Only Hotch stayed awake, keeping a watch over the team especially on the breathing of the injured.

He wished that morning would come faster – he wasn't sure how much longer they would last.

* * *

_Go on, make a girl's day – review :) you know you want to._


	10. Chapter 10

**Title:** Soaring into the Unknown.  
**Summary:** Unknown to the team, there is a criminal on the plane. Could they survive and come out of the experience stronger than ever?  
**Author's Notes: **With Many Thanks to **REIDFANATIC** for the beta read! I am graceful to her for making my work the best it can be.  
I would like to thanks **shell2005**, **didi2909**, **grahamag**, **Sue1313**, **ohiocoolgirl**, **Roma81**, **egoofy34**, **Carla-Leigh**, **vamoarribauruguay** and **CriminalMindsluvr21** for reviewing chapter nine.  
_This extra long chapter is for __**Sue1313**__, __**egoofy34**__,__** DeviousRobynoo**__, __**Shell2005**__, __**didi2909**__, __**CriminalMindsluvr21**__ and __**A-zla**__ for being wonderful, loyal reviewers that has kept my sprits up about the story and encouraged me to finish it.  
_To my readers, hope you enjoy this as you are also fantastic for getting this far!  
**Disclaimer:** This is a work of fiction. Sadly, the characters in this story are borrowed from the TV show 'Criminal Minds'.

* * *

JJ's chilling moans woke them up as she shivered although her body was giving out fiery heat. She tossed and turned, lashing out a hand that made Morgan flinched as it made contact with his screeching painful ribs.

Hotch took action, unwrapping the blood soaked cloth around her shoulder, he cringed at the angry wound staring back at him. Pushing down bile in his throat, he cleaned the wound with the water that was collected in the leaves and then rewrapped with his shirt, leaving him in just a vest. He would have to deal with the cold another time. The team, fully awake, surrounded him unsure of what to do, they watched as JJ shivered and cried in her sleep, unable to break free from the bond that the darkness had on her.

"One down, five to go," sniggered Luke, as he guffawed, Reid saw red and ran at him. Not stopping his fists flying. He merely stopped when Luke won't stop laughing as blood poured out of his reopened head wound. Reid took a step back, shocked about the fact how fast and how easy anger poured through his blood. Garcia took him into her arms as he controlled himself, breathing and blocking out the laughter.

With a smile and a sad look in his eyes, he calmly pushed Garcia off him; with a nod he walked away, unable to listen to Luke's mocking laughter mixed with the struggle of JJ's breathing as her chest sucked in air and pushed it out nosily.

The team watched him disappear, knowing that the genius would be able to look after himself and find his way back to them. Morgan growled in fury as his chest screamed when he tried to get up to punch Luke as he held up two fingers, signally that only four are left. Garcia placed her hand gently, trying to calm his rage. Morgan sighed and reached out for JJ's hand, needing to touch her. He easily found her hand after Emily guided him.

"I am going to find water and maybe some food." Hotch told the team as he got up, looking at everybody but the whimpering girl. "I won't be long."

Garcia clumsily got up, suddenly feeling so lost without her glasses. The effects for the last couple of hours had made her forget about her sight somehow but now, her head ached as she twitched her eyes every second, wishing that her vision would return back to normal. Hotch's hand on her shoulder pushed her back down. "Look after them." With that, he walked off.

Reid kicked the sand, watching as the wind carried it away. That was how he felt inside. He hated the pale face and the sweat that ran down his face. He woke up with her struggling in his arms and his clothes drenched with sweat. He slid her off him, not knowing what to do and feeling like an idiot when Hotch sprung into action instead of him.

He looked out to the empty ocean with some debris floating; he knew that Michael would more than likely be at the bottom of the sea as the storm would have overturned him. He was glad that they were on land now; he would have hated it if he'd died at the sea, surrounded by nothing by water and more water.

He narrowed his eyes and his forehead creased as he spotted a black dot in the air; laughing as it came closer and louder, a helicopter. With bliss in his heart, he jumped up and down, waving, much like what he had done hours earlier when he'd seen Emily and Garcia. He groaned as it circled back to the wreckage. 'No!' he thought, 'We are over here!' He growled in annoyance, looking at his surroundings and seeing nothing that could help. He shouted, screaming at the helicopter. He knew that they wouldn't hear him but he couldn't just stand by.

Hotch dropped all of the items that he had spent some time collecting when he heard the wrenching scream. He was terrified that something had happened to the team and he wasn't there to stop it. Not caring that he was so tired that his brain had nearly shut down, he ran at the full speed toward the source of noise.

He stumbled when the ground changed from the mud to the sand but carried on running. He slowed when he saw that it was Reid just screaming but he continued running.

"What's wrong?" Hotch shouted out as he came closer, not seeing any injures that could be the cause of his screams. Reid didn't stop screaming, instead he pointed at the flying transport. Hotch gasped, they were saved. He joined in with the waving but it just searched around the wreckage. He huffed when it got higher, going away.

"It's getting away!" yelled Reid as he stamped his feet. He looked at Hotch, he had given up. 'I will not give up.' With that thought, he waded into the water and swam. He took powerful strokes as he cruised over the livid waves. He didn't stop swimming until he crashed into some part of the wreckage. With a huff, he pulled himself onto a large piece of ruined aircraft and stood up, waving franticly.

The whole time, Hotch had been watching as the helicopter circled back and drop the rope ladder down to Reid's outreaching hands. He laughed happily as Reid climbed up the wavy ladder. When the helicopter turned around, he moved back clearing enough space for the transport to land safety.

Within no time at all, the helicopter landed. The blades picking up sand and whipped all around him. He shielded his eyes as the sand blew into his face. When the blades became suddenly still, he ran to the door. Laughing as he saw Reid drenched but grinning.

"Let get home," smiled Hotch as he shook hands with the pilot and the crew and led the way back to the 'camp'.

"Garcia!"

"Hotch?"

Hotch smiled again, his face ached from the different expression but it was a good pain. He ran followed closely by Reid and the paramedic. The pilot remained in his helicopter, ready for takeoff when they returned.

His smile faded when he saw that JJ was still asleep and Morgan struggling to stay awake. Not wanting to leave them for a moment longer than needed without help, they set out to move everybody.

Hotch helped Tim, the paramedic, carry JJ, using the stretcher that Tim had brought along after hearing about the injured members.

Reid was about to help sleepy Morgan up to make their way before Tim stopped him. "We will come back for him. No point moving him like that if he could be comfortable." Reid nodded and sat down with his friend, waving goodbye to the rest as Garcia held Emily by her side.

It wasn't long before Hotch and Tim returned but Morgan had become rapidly worse with rasping breaths and soaking forehead. Reid followed them, pulling Luke along harshly. He didn't know why he got stuck with the criminal but he didn't dare complain as Morgan was heavy with his muscular build – he could see that the carriers were struggling.

He tried to ignore Luke's singing voice as he went on about how it was too late, too late for two of them. Each time he mentioned JJ's name or even referred to her in any form, he gave the rope a rough tug, sending him tripping each time. He didn't even bother waiting for the man to get up before moving on. Is this what he had become? Somehow, somewhat, he doesn't care.

He gave the girls a smile as he got onto the plane, after pushing Luke into the back; he took the seat next to JJ, gently moving her hair out of her face. His hand came away with dried blood and sand.

He was fixed on JJ for the whole journey, and before he knew it, they landed on the rooftop of the hospital. Without warning, the doors swung open, the doctors and the nurses came rushing in. Shouting out commands and pushing the uninjured team out of the way. They pulled JJ out first and without telling them anything, they wheeled her off. Reid tried to follow but the young doctor held him back, bringing him to a cubicle.

There the young doctor ordered him to take his drenched clothes off and slip into the gown. Reid did so slowly as his muscles ached with every movement. He let the doctor check him over, answering every question he had. The young doctor was pleased that his patient would be fine, just a few bumps and bruises and directed him to the lost and found section for some clean, dry clothes and then a nurse took him to a waiting room.

His heart lifted slightly when he saw that Garcia and Hotch were already in the room with dry clothes, looking exhausted but intact.

"I will return when I get some news about Miss Prentiss, Mr. Morgan and Miss Jareau," announced the nurse as she made her way out.

"Okay," said Reid as he took a seat, relieved that they finally had help, he couldn't help but worry about the damage that the other three had received. He watched as Hotch paced across the room, up and down, up and down. Garcia was staring at the door, waiting eagerly.

An hour had passed before the door swung open. Garcia blocked the view from the men but they knew that it was some sort of good news as she squealed and ran to the person. Then laughter greeted her. They knew instantly that it was Emily. With small smiles pasted on their faces, they made their way to the door.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, all hopped up on painkillers and I got this lovely pink plaster." replied Emily as she held up her arm, she caught Hotch's look and quickly added, "It's all they've got." Fishing inside her pocket of the clothes she'd been given from the lost and found she pulled out a pair of glasses and handed them to Garcia. She accepted them, delighted to be able to see clearly once again.

"How are the others?" asked Emily as she sat down, they each took a seat too. By the looks on their faces, she knew that they didn't know.

"So we just wait."

The clock's hand moved a long way before a nurse came in. "We got news on Luke Laidlaw. He will be alright. The police are here to take him away. They need you to give them a statement down at the station sometime this week." Hotch nodded.

"What about my Morgan and JJ?" Garcia asked eagerly.

She grinned, "They will be fine. No surgery was required for Mr. Morgan but he will need plenty of rest, he has three cracked ribs. Miss Jareau however needed surgical intervention to repair the tissue and the muscle damage in her shoulder. She had just come out of the recovery into the same room with Mr. Morgan. Miss Jareau has some stitches in both wounds and a concussion so we will keep her in for a few days to ensure that it's not a more serious head injury. She has an IV infusing to give her proper hydration and replace the blood she has lost. She should be awake by now, although she will probably be a little out of it. We'll keep waking her at regular intervals for the first little while."

Sighs of relief could be heard throughout in the room.

"Can we see them?"

The nurse held the door open, "Yes, we have put them in a room together. Room 265. I will take you there."

The walk from the waiting room to room number 265 seemed endless; each step seeming to take an eternity. Reid braced himself before entering the room. The others had already entered the room and he could hear Garcia's high pitch voice as she fussed over her boyfriend and her best friend.

He knew that Emily would be sitting on JJ's bed, talking to her while Hotch joked with Morgan.

Bracing himself, he walked into the room and stopped in his tracks at the sight of the blonde girl in front of him. She had a bandage on her head, colour had returned to her cheeks and she was dressed in a horrible hospital gown but he thought that she still looked like the most beautiful girl in the world. Their eyes met and sparks shot out. Saying a brief hello to Morgan, he made his way to JJ, gently embracing her battered body in his arms, careful not to knock her IV out of her vein as well as avoid touching her bandages. He liked the way that she fitted so perfectly with his own body.

After watching JJ and Reid dance around each other, grinning and smiling at each other, Hotch turned around and asked Emily if she would like to get a coffee.

"Uh … erm … well, I … don't really date co-workers." She mumbled, panicking at the thought that everybody in the team would be coupled up. Besides, Hotch and Haley has only just split up, surely it must be too soon?

"Just a coffee, I haven't had a decent one in so long," Hotch chuckled, putting Emily more at ease. He did not realise that he had that effect on the ladies.

Going bright red, Emily replied, "Okay," unable to say anything else, she waved goodbye to her co-workers and then waited by the door while Hotch said his goodbyes.

Hotch decided that this was something he should do from now on, he liked the hugs – it let him know that they were there and alive. He just laughed when Reid's eyes went wide open when he realised that Hotch is hugging all of the members of the team, even the men.

'It's too soon,' he thought and put his hand out for a handshake, Reid surprised him when he pulled the older man into a hug. So this is what a father/son hug is like? Reid liked it and Hotch only hoped that he would have half as good a relationship with his own son as he had with Reid.

Hotch walked off, glancing back once to catch the kiss that Garcia blew for him. The team had gone back to joking and laughing, the joy spread throughout the hospital.

He knew that even if they have new scars added to their growing collection. They would get through this and live to fight another day. After all, they had each other. They are a family; a tightly knit family.

_**The End.**_

* * *

I know, I know. I did not want the story to end but thank you for staying with the BAU family throughout their journey.  
I hope you enjoyed the ride.

_Oh and readers, please review even if you have never reviewed before, and then I might just write another story! :)_


End file.
